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Feds have no plan to meet greenhouse gas targets promised

The report shows that provincial policies account for about half of the total government action.

Ottawa (04 February 2011) - Environment Canada released earlier this week a report of greenhouse gas emissions and projected targets.

It is now irrefutable that the federal government's plans to reduce emissions will fall far short of the target that locks Canada in step with the United States: 17% below 2005 by 2020.Even with currently announced federal and provincial climate policies going into effect, Canada’s emissions are projected to be higher in 2020 than they are today. This means Canada would be 30% above our 2020 target or otherwise stated, 7% above 2005 in 2020 instead of 17% below.Federal government policies would close just a quarter of the gap between business as usual emissions in 2020 and the government’s target. To date it would appear that the federal government has no plans to cover the remaining three-quarters of the gap.Last week’s NRTEE report shows that provincial policies account for about half of the total government action. So in the absence of new provincial action, federal policies would have to be six times stronger to reach the target.

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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE